Always a Friend

Chapter 11

It took us over thirty minutes to get to The Breezeway; parking was an utter nightmare. So far, this date rated a four out of ten, and it hadn't truly begun. I know rating the date based on trying to get to the place, and his parking skills seemed childish and irrelevant, but the night seemed doomed from the start. True, I couldn't compare it to past dates, seeing I'd never been on one before, but I had a good idea that it shouldn't be this much trouble trying to get to someplace. Not to mention, I overdressed for our date, thanks to Sarah and Chloe. I couldn't help but feel judged as we made our way through Breezeway as girls whispered and the guys gawked. I already felt uncomfortable, and this wasn't making it any better. 

"Is this table okay?" Jude asked, motioning in front of us. 

In my head, I screamed...No, it wasn't okay. Ashton told me to sit at a booth with low lighting, preferably toward the back. This was pretty much in the middle of everyone, with a bright ass light hovering over us. "Sure." I forced a fake smile on my face and sat down. I hoped he'd sit next to me; instead, he sat across from me. At this point, I wanted to get up, call an Uber and leave. Then again, part of me told me this date still had promise, and I needed to give it a chance. 

"Do you want to eat first, then play games?" Jude asked. 

"That's fine." I managed another smile. "I warn you, though, I'm not that good at video games." 

"I'll go easy on you." He winked. 

Great...I will get my ass handed to me while playing video games. I looked away so that he wouldn't see the disgusted look on my face. I wanted to grab my phone and text Chloe to come save me, but she was out with her boyfriend, Braedon. Sarah was out with Ty, so that she wouldn't answer her texts either. I sure in hell wasn't texting Ava because I didn't want her showing up with Caleb. 

"Hi, my name's Hannah; I'll be taking care of you this evening. What would you like to drink?" She handed us menus, smiling at Jude. 

"I'll have a Cherry Coke." I glared over at her. 

"I'll have the same," Jude said.

"I'll be right back with your drinks." She smiled, keeping her eyes on Jude. I wanted to say something about her flirting, but then again, part of me was like, here, take him. I didn't know what had come over me. I had been looking forward to my date with Jude for the past few days. I excused myself and went to the bathroom, hoping to get a hold of myself before I made a bigger wreck of the date. Luckily, when I got to the bathroom, it was empty. I could have a few minutes to fall apart before someone walked in. I stood in front of the mirror, wondering what in the hell I was doing. I needed to stop analyzing everything and just try and enjoy myself. I fluffed my hair, applied more lip gloss, and returned to the table. I was a few feet from the table when I noticed Jude wasn't in his seat anymore. He was now sitting in the chair next to mine. The corners of my mouth curled up in a slight smile. Maybe this date was going to be great after all.

                                                                                             *****

After we ate, we spent the next two to three hours playing games. For someone who didn't like video games, I was pretty good at them. He said he would go easy on me, but I could tell toward the end that he was being more competitive. The roles had reversed, and I ended up being the one that was going easy on him. I didn't want to rub it in that I was better at certain games than him. 

"I thought you didn't like video games?" Jude raised an eyebrow, smiling. 

"I don't." 

"Well, it's a good thing that you don't." He laughed, letting go of the pusher on the air hockey table. He walked around and took my hand. "You ready to go?" He smiled, squeezing my hand. 

"Sure." I couldn't help but feel disappointed that he hadn't even tried to kiss me yet. Did my breath stink from the pizza? Did I stumble into some bad lighting? I made sure to pop a mint in my mouth when he wasn't paying attention. I had been watching for the signs just like Ashton told me to, and I thought they were all there. 

On the way back to my house, the car was filled with awkward silence between songs being streamed on Bluetooth. Not the kind of silence that leaves you wanting to jump each other, but the kind that makes you want to jump out of the car once it stops moving. I would never jump out of the car, but I was having serious thoughts about a quick goodnight and running to my door once we made it to my house, which was basically jumping out of the car when it stopped. I glanced over at him a couple of times to see if I should try and strike up a conversation with him, but he was busy changing songs at stoplights. Finally, we reached my house ten minutes later, and I was shocked to see Ashton's car in the driveway. Usually, he was never home this early from a date. 

Jude left the car running, got out, and opened my door. "I had a great time, Gemma. Maybe we can do this again soon." He kissed me on the cheek. On the Cheek! Even I knew that was the kiss of death for a date. "Night, Gemma." He turned and walked down my porch steps. I stood there wondering what the hell just happened. I watched him walk to his car, hoping he'd change his mind, come back, and swoop me off my feet. Instead, he hopped in his car, backed out of my driveway, and took off down the road without waving bye. Hell, at this point, being flipped off would've been better than just being left here without a wave. I finally turned around and unlocked the front door while ice cream called my name from the kitchen. I kicked off my wedge sandals and went upstairs to change into my leggings and a comfy T-shirt. The ice cream and hot fudge still called my name as I strolled down the stairs. I just wanted to drown my sorrows in a huge bowl of ice cream with hot fudge. I was halfway to the kitchen when someone knocked on the door, someone meaning Ashton.

I opened the door. "I'm not in the mood." I turned and started walking toward the kitchen. 

"I can see that. Do you want to talk about it?" He closed the door. "Let me guess...Ice cream?" 

"Yeah. Want some?" I turned on the light. 

"Sure." 

"What's wrong with me?" I asked, getting the ice cream out of the freezer. 

"Is this a trick question?" Ashton's brows furrowed. 

I sighed, dropping my shoulders. "Thanks." I grabbed the bowls and spoons. 

"I'm not quite sure what you want me to say," Ashton asked, confused. 

I couldn't be upset at him for being confused because I was just as confused as he was about the situation. Probably more so than he was, to be honest. Then it hit me, dropping my spoon. "He fuckin ditched me for our server." 

"He's the idiot, Gem." Ashton took a bite of ice cream. 

I glanced over at him, studying his expression for a minute. "You aren't even surprised or anything. You knew! That's why you're over here! Make sure poor little Gemma is okay. Well, I'm fine! Get the fuck out! Give me my ice cream!" I snatched the bowl away from him and yanked the spoon out of his hand, flinging hot fudge on his face. "Serves you right!" 

"Can I at least get a towel to wipe my face off before I leave?" 

"No! Get out!" I pointed out of the kitchen. "Now!" 

He held up his hands in a surrendering motion. "I'm going. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Gem." 

"Get out!" I moved toward Ashton as he backed up toward the doorway. He finally turned around and walked out of the kitchen. I stood there until I heard the front door close. I peeked out to make sure he wasn't still standing in the hallway. I put his bowl of ice cream in the sink and took mine upstairs with me. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed with my ice cream with no boys around me. 

Author's Notes:

Poor Gemma! Wonder if Jude really went back after the server? What do you think? Let me know in the comments. 

If you like this chapter, please show it some love. Thanks! Amber